


Gotta go back in time, as soon as I figure out how

by NicoIsTrying



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Time Travel, Time and Space are a little funky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:34:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29322510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoIsTrying/pseuds/NicoIsTrying
Summary: On a harmless expedition into Odin's vault, Loki stumbles onto a powerful magical artefact, and gets hurled through time and space.Why was he older, and smashed into a bunch of marble tiles? Why was everyone mad at him?AKA: Child-Loki gets yeeted to 2012, which is not pleasant.
Relationships: Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Maybe sneaking into the vault had been a terrible idea. But as bad as Thor usually was with words, he kept convincing Loki to join him on his harebrained adventures, this time being no exception.

"Come on brother, it shall be very entertaining! And the warriors three will no longer believe you a coward!" And _that_ was the hook that sank into Loki, and the reason be was currently weaving a spell to keep them unnoticed. 

Thor and his friends thought they could just waltz into Odin's secret vault with no precautions, but Loki knew better. He had tried something like this in the past, and, well, he and Odin had agreed to keep the results of that excursion a secret to Frigga. Loki had to glamour unburned hair onto his head for _weeks_. 

Thor and his friends were exploring the vault, getting too close to the precious artefacts inside. Loki knew better than to explain that to them, but he winced when Volstagg almost touched The Ruby of a Thousand Deaths, which was exactly as bad as that name sounded. Almost everything in that vault could kill an Aesir in an instant, and Loki had had intense second thoughts while skulking around the vault, avoiding having to talk to Thor's friends. 

His eyes were caught by something. He walked closer to what appeared to be a standing mirror, held up by delicately carved lion-paws. It was beautiful, carefully crafted and adorned by gems. 

"What?", Loki muttered to himself, stepping even closer. The mirror's reflection was slightly blurred, and he could barely make himself out. 

And then the mistake that starts this story happened, as Loki let his guard slip for a moment and forgot the careful warnings Odin and his teachers had engraved into his mind: "Don't enter the vault, and don't touch anything in the vault."

He touched the mirror.

A loud hum echoed through the underground chamber, the rare gems in the frame of the mirror glowing with power. Loki took a step back, his eyes blown wide with fear. He heard Thor call out, distantly :"Loki!" 

Too late. A bright light enveloped him, and he was gone. 

Oh. Oh by the Norns. Loki had never been sure what the library books had been on about when they described the feeling of traveling far distances through magic as 'comparable to being trampled by the Valkyrie's Pegasi', but right now he was both _very_ impressed about the accuracy of the description, and **incredibly** in pain.

He was surrounded by shards of marble, and his body seemed to be pressed into the floor somehow. Everything seemed offbalance, his hands a little bit too far from where they used to be, his field of vision just slightly larger. 

First off, cool. Second, OhShi _tOhFuckWhatThe FuckHappenedIAmSeverelyGrounded_. 

Where was he? How did the mirror bring him here? _How could he get back?_


	2. Chapter 2

Deep breaths. In. Out. Do not panic. 

Whatever this was, he could get himself out of.

Just… breathe. _Okay, do not breathe, I repeat, **do not breathe** , those ribs are definitely broken. _

He wasn't going to cry. Not even a little. 

He was brave, like his mother said, so he could just think rationally about this.

That's when the green giant showed up.

He was glad Thor wasn't around to hear that undignified scream. 

He closed his eyes, accepting his fate of being eaten by whatever creature he had landed next to, but nothing happened. Loki looked up. That… _Thing_ was looking slightly confused. 

"H-Hi?", he wagered. Was this thing reasonable? 

"YOU NOT SAY 'HI'. YOU MEAN TO HULK."

Loki was scared, Loki was confused, but Loki was also a little angry. 

"I just got here? What are you?" 

The creature, Hulk, looked earnestly at him.

"You smash New York, I smash you!"

"Yes, that's not an incredibly cryptic statement, thank you!", the prince huffed. He needed information, anything.

"Glowy Staff. Portal. You bad!" 

That wasn't… nothing? 

"Look, is there anyone here I can talk to?"

Hm. Maybe he shouldn't have said that, because apparently the universe hates him.

"My cue, I believe!",said an artificially enhanced voice somewhere out of view. Loki stood up (well, it was pretty close to standing up.)

The man who had spoken was wearing a suit of armour that covered his entire body, a round spot on his chest glowing a bright blue. His hands held similar lights, one of which he had pointed straight at Loki. "Come on, Rudolf, we got places to be!"

Loki narrowed his eyes. Did this man think he knew him? 

"Excuse, there must be a misunderstanding!"

The armored man laughed, and shook his head.

"It's pretty clear, actually. I don't have all day, stop playing around."

That was odd, extremely so. 

"I don't… know you.",Loki clarified. He hoped the locals just had unusual customs.

The helmet covering the face popped off, revealing a middle aged man with sharp eyes and a slightly greying beard.

"Hulk, how hard did you smash him?"

Hulk shrugged. "Hulk smash how hard he wants. Puny god needed lots of smashing."

Loki laughed. "I'm not a god! That's preposterous!"

The armored man tilted his head, and lifted his left hand to his ear.

"Thor, your brother is acting _weird_. Get your ass up here."

Loki's eyes widened in shock. "You know my brother? Explain yourself!"

"Whoa, cool down, reindeer games, he's on the team. I'm pretty sure you stabbed him twenty minutes ago."

Loki felt sick. Everything was wrong, _he didn't understand,_ what where they talking about?


	3. Chapter 3

Mjollnir landed hard on the floor, the man accompanying it standing up quickly.

Was that… Thor?

He looked older, his hair longer and braided like the warriors that would come to the royal feasts. He wore enchanted armour, which was earned after the first successful hunt, something which Loki _knew_ Thor hadn't done yet. His face was hard.

"LOKI.", he boomed, sounding almost like Odin.

This couldn't be Thor, could it?

"Thor, help me, I don't understand, we were just in the vault and-"

Thor cut him off, his fingers throwing small sparks. "Do not attempt a clever lie to worm your way out, Loki. You have done what you have done. Trickery will not free you."

Loki quivered. Thor was like the other two, insisting he had done _something_ , something terrible, but he just didn't know-

"What. What did I do, Thor?"

His brother looked down and shook his head.

"Cuff him. I'll look for the archer and the widow."

Loki was devastated. The older version of Thor had flown off, leaving Loki with Armor-Man and the Hulk.

He felt a tear on his cheek, and as he went to dry it, he spotted a drop of deep crimson on his hand.

Was that his own or- Loki wanted to throw up.

He wanted to be home again, with a Thor that didn't have Lightning on his fingers when he spoke. He wanted to apologize to his father for entering the vault. He wanted to speak to his mother. Could he still get back? Was this how his life was now?

He couldn't breathe. Thor had been there, right there, and he had treated Loki like a criminal.

_No-one listened to him, they all said he was someone he wasn't **, I can't go back home**_

Tony was a little confused. He flew to meet the Hulk, who had smashified Loki satisfyingly (Although his floor would say otherwise. Yikes.)

Loki immediately set his alarm bells off when he _didn't_ try to kill him, what a gentleman.

But then he kept asking questions, not even slightly snarky, and he seemed genuinely shaken.

(Yeah yeah, master deceiver, but come on)

His running theory was brain damage.

And then he had called Thor up.

After screaming at Loki at at an ungodly (hah) volume, the "God of Lies" just looked terrified.

Maybe Tony should cuff him now, but Hulk could intervene if their guest tried anything. Loki stumbles back, falling against a pillar. Was that a tear? Tony looked away. He wouldn't be deceived by him again.

Tony fumbled around with his suit, waiting for Thor to come back, when, surprisingly, the Hulk approached him.

The green guy looked oddly concerned and Tony should have known that something was up then. "God not okay.", he said, frowning. Tony looked over to where Loki had sat down. "Oh. Fuck."

Indeed, God not okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> God not okay.  
> TW: Panic Attack

Tony recognized the picture in front of him, because this happened to him every time he had a nightmare about his time in Afghanistan, about everything he had seen and done.

Loki, the Norse god of mischief and lies, was having a panic attack. 

"Jesus Christ.", he mumbled. 

Loki was crumpled up on the floor, his hands shaking. Tears were dripping down his face, and his eyes stared, unfocused.

"Loki! Listen to me!"

"You don't believe me."

"Loki, breathe, you need air."

" _I can't get back home_ "

"Listen, buddy, we'll find something, we can get you home, trust me."

Loki turned towards him.

"I don't know what's going on." he said before collapsing onto Tony. Tony inhaled deeply.

"Me neither, man."

"So basically, that's why there's a passed out God on the couch. Any questions?"

The meeting room fell quiet, as each of the Avengers thought on what Tony had said.

Thor spoke first.

"We cannot trust my brother. This is another plot to attain his freedom, and it will not stand.

Tony… didn't like that. At all. 

"Did you even fucking _listen_? He did a complete 180 after Hulk smashed him,-"

Bruce looked down.

"- he doesn't even seem like the same person!"

"It's all trickery!"

" _He had a panic attack!"_

"He acted like it!"

Tony activated his repulsor-watch. 

"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare." 

Thor sat down.

A beat of silence went by, and Natasha spoke.

"We'll wait until he wakes up."

Loki felt fuzzy. His head was heavy, and he was on a makeshift bed of some sort.

The room around him was spacious and held some tables, a kitchen, and several objects he didn't recognize. What- 

Oh. He remembered. The green Hulk, the man in the armour, their accusations, Thor- 

Loki jolted, before getting his emotions under control. As Odin's general always said: Don't let them see your weakness.

Number one: Find a way out. Number two: Get back home. Number three: Punch that stupid mirror into a bajillion pieces.

With the plan set, Loki got to work. 


End file.
